


Horror’s Reprise

by Raikcaa



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ben Hargreeves Deserves Better, Ben Hargreeves is Alive, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Lesbian Vanya Hargreeves, No Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-11-19 11:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18135074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raikcaa/pseuds/Raikcaa
Summary: Reginald Hargreeves is dead, the family has come together for the first time since their childhood. They didn't think they would stay together but investigating a mysterious murder happens to bring them together. The only problem is the murder is just like them.Vanya doesn't know about her powers yet and doesn't cause the apocalypse au!





	1. Funerals

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU! and it will have multiple chapters! I also love Ben Hargreeves and he needs more fics.

The grand old house where they grew up was empty, it was hollow. The only presence that had entered the black gates in four years was an old monkey and a robotic mother. The children who lived there left one by one until nothing was left. The house stood as a shell of childhood memories.

The children who lived there had all heard the news, their beloved father, Reginald Hargreeves had died from a heart attack. From the corners of the world and even from the moon, they all traveled back. A funeral must have been had or maybe they just wanted their inheritance. 

The children had all grown up and went their separate lives whether forced or of their own will. Most left and had never returned, and perhaps that was what their father might have wanted.

Vanya was nervous as she moved the gates and opened the doors to her home. She saw the big chandelier and the stairs that ran up into the house. Everything looked the same yet ever so peaceful. Vanya was afraid of how her siblings would react, she didn’t belong with them and she had hurt them. Vanya freed herself with that book but she also condemned herself to the hatred of her family. 

Klaus wasn’t in a rush to go home. Klaus did not want to go home, he did not want to honor his father’s memory. He really just wanted his share of the inheritance and he was going to get and maybe spite Luther on the way. Klaus needed cash for his next high and he knew the only way he could get money was that inheritance, what little money he had left was spent on a pitiful doughnut.

Diego still thought like a detective, he was still thinking of endless possibilities on how his dear old father died. Diego wondered how painful his father’s death had been, he almost hoped it was painful. His father didn’t deserve the luxury of pity but his father was going to get it, Pogo or Luther would be the jackass to say some sort of bull shit and that's what they did.

Allison thought returning home could be a nice break. She had worried about Claire for so long so maybe it was time to worry about someone else. Allison had been curious to her father’s life but more importantly what her siblings had been up to. She had always kept checking up on them, she paid for Klaus’s hospital bills anonymously and always watched the news for Diego’s name to pop up.

Luther was filled with grief and anger. His father died while he was on the moon, that sounded pathetic. Luther would get his avenge his father’s death, after all how could his father just die? Was Luther just one big failure in the eyes of his father? Luther was not so happy to be sharing this moment with his siblings, sure he was glad to see Allison but he wanted to punch the shit out of Diego.

The five siblings met and talked, they discussed the funerals and exchanged some pitiful conversations. Then the sounds of storm and thunder, the siblings ran to the source and saw a bright blue light. Klaus threw a fire distinguisher at it, like that would help. They watched the wind pick up as a figure started to emerge, a man with a long beard slowly turned into a young child. It was little number five. 

Five was tired. He had been gone for so long and everything looked the same. Vanya still had the sad little smile and Luther was still so stupid. Five knew he really was the brains of the family as he tried to explain the time travel and the math to his now older siblings. They didn’t understand it at all, the only one who might was Ben.

The now six siblings, their mother and now Pogo stood as the rain poured down on them. This was their father’s goodbye. It was a mixture of grief, hatred and a bunch of other sour feelings that emanated from the cluster of umbrellas. After this was done then they could be on their way, they could fall apart from each other like nothing ever happened.


	2. Slaughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very Diego chapter as he investigates and does some police work with the help of Klaus and the wonderful Eudora Patch!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eudora Patch deserves better. She and Diego are really cute okay!

Diego wasn’t allowed to continue hopping into investigations run by the police department. That didn’t stop him from trying, after all it was fun and he wanted to help people. Diego was the only sibling that continued being a hero even if he preferred to call it vigilante work. Luther would laugh at him, Luther was also stupid so Diego didn't care much of what he thought.

Diego wasn’t expecting a call from the beautiful Eudora Patch. The wonderful Eudora Patch whom Diego had pissed off on numerous occasions but loved deeply.

“Diego, have you heard of the murder from last night?” Eudora’s voice was angelic as always but she also sounded tired, “It was on the east side of town near the shady laundromat.”

“I was busy last night Eudora,” he said Eudora a little bit longer then he should have just to annoy her, “My father’s funeral was last night”

“I’m sorry to hear that-” Eudora’s voice was filled with instant sincerity. 

“Don’t be,” Diego said darkly, “I hated him, most of my siblings did. Anyway the case you were talking about?”

“Right,” Eudora sighed and continued, “A man’s… well we think it was a man. A man’s body was found outside a laundromat in an alleyway-”

“Eudora- I mean Patch,” Diego wanted to see how far he could push Eudora’s patience with her name, “Why are you telling me this?”

“Listen,” Eudora sighed again, “His body was mutilated, absolutely horrific! Half of his body was gone and nowhere to be seen, it was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen-”

“And?” 

“The way he died seemed unnatural,” Eudora said quietly, “I was thinking that maybe someone with y'know special powers did this?”

“You think someone in my family killed this man?” Diego knew no one in his family could do this, even if he wanted to blame Luther. They had solid alibis, the funeral...

“No!” Eudora said quickly, “Just someone like you! Someone with powers! Listen Diego, this just seems like no regular human could have done this,”

“Can I investigate?” There was no way she will say yes.

“Yes.” That went better than Diego thought. 

Diego made his way down to the site of the murder. Eudora said that he would have enough clearance to at least see the scene of the crime, though she couldn't be there. Once Diego got there he almost puked. Diego had often claimed that nothing would make him scared but this? This was bad.

Eudora was not wrong. There was blood splattered on the brick walls and the ground had been soaked through with blood. The man’s body had been moved to a coroner's office, but the damage was still noticeable, this wasn’t just a crime scene, this was a slaughter.

Once he saw the pictures of the dead body he knew that Eudora was right, no ordinary human could do this. The body’s torso had been gorged, organs either falling out or missing completely. The man’s former legs were now bloody stumps. An arm was gone and the face was scratched out and unrecognizable. What kind of person- no thing would do this?

\------

Diego decided to call his family, they were all still in the area, it had only been one day since his father’s death. He thought about this decision but decided it was for the best, if this was someone like them then they needed to be stopped. After all... it had to be someone like them? No ordinary person could pull this off.

As Diego opened the door to his childhood home and entered the living room he found all of his siblings waiting for him, even Vanya was there staring at the floor. 

“Vanya…” Diego sighed, “You can’t help me with what I’m going to tell everyone, you should leave,” Vanya starred at him with her sad eyes as she slowly rises from her seat on the couch. 

“I think Vanya should stay,” Five cut in before Vanya walked out the door, “After all she might have some ideas. She actually has a brain cell or two,” Five liked Vanya, she was nice and sane. 

Everyone turned their eyes to Five angrily, it was a habit that Five constantly insulted their intelligence. Five knew he was smarter than everyone in this room and and he liked to flaunt it. It was apart of his personality and he never missed a chance to call his siblings stupid.

“Fine.” Diego said bitterly, it's not like he hated Vanya, he hated what he wrote... especially about his mother.

“Why did you call us here Diego?” Allison said sounding tired, she had better things to do. 

“Maybe it’s because he can’t find his knives,” Klaus said with a giggle.

“I’ll tell you when you all shut up!” Diego was getting pissed, “I got a call from a detective I know and-”

“Ohh!” Klaus interrupted again, “Your lady friend? The one you kept talking about when you drunkenly called me a few months ago?”

“Diego would scare off any women who tried to talk to him,” Luther said quickly. It was almost like Luther was trying to be clever.

“You do realize your the size of three Russian ladies right?” Klaus said again as he sipped his whiskey, Luther growled and glared daggers at Klaus.

“Would all of you please shut the fuck up!” Diego was now clearly pissed, “This is important so would you please listen!”

“Tell us then,” Vanya said in a more quieter voice then intended.

“My contact told me about a murder,” Diego said as he calmed down, “I went down and saw the crime scene and it wasn’t normal,”

“What do you mean not normal?” Luther asked with a frown and his normal bossy tone. 

Diego pulled the gruesome pictures from his pocket and unfolded them. As he placed them on the coffee table he heard gasps from his family, Allison’s face held fear and Luther gagged. The family sat in silence for a moment as they recollected themselves.

“Okay yeah,” Five started, “That wasn’t something a normal person could do,”

“Then who could do it?” Vanya asked quietly, her sad eyes never looked away from the pictures. 

“Well,” Diego started as he looked in Klaus’s direction, “We have someone who can find out?”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Klaus said frowning, “You see I can’t just do it willingly!” Klaus hadn't been sober enough to try. 

“You mean your high?” Five guessed and from Klaus’s expression it seemed he guessed right.

“Just try it?” Allison asked nicely, she got a groan from Klaus which the siblings assumed as a disgruntled yes.

\----

A few hours later Diego started up his old car as Klaus hopped in shotgun. They were the ones that decided to go to the crime scene, Diego wanted to test Klaus, just see if he could talk to the murdered man. It would help the investigation so much if he could. Diego drove off to the scene of the crime as Klaus annoyingly hummed some song with his feet on the dashboard. It took them a awkward 21 minutes to actually get there, neither of the brothers talked to each other but Klaus kept twitching and muttering to himself. 

Maybe this was the effect of trying to become sober? Maybe Klaus is actually trying to become sober?

The two brothers got to the scene of the crime, there was still police surveillance and officers scattered around. Diego and Klaus were able to pass through because of Diego’s connections.

“Well Klaus, see anything?” Diego asked once Klaus saw the place where the man died.

Klaus clapped his hands together and said, “Appear!” and then frowned. “I said appear!” Klaus said again with a clap. Maybe if Klaus was theatrical enough, something would happen.

Diego wasn’t going to interrupt him but the duo was getting a lot of stares. To an ordinary person, Klaus looked insane. 

“Fine. Have it your way.” Klaus said as he closed his eyes and started to concentrate, his breathing slowed down, he held his hands out with each tattoo facing upwards and when he opened his eyes he said, “Hello,”

A man was standing before Klaus, he mirrored the pictures Diego showed him perfectly. “What did this?” 

“Do you see him Klaus?” Diego whispered. 

“Shut up Diego!” Klaus snipped back, “I said, what did this?”

“A shadow…” The ghost’s voice was carried in the wind, it sounded sad and in pain, “from above… it growled at me,”

“What did this?” Klaus continued to ask, “How did you die?”

“It came from above… I didn’t notice,” The ghost continued, “Like a monster- like some alien. It was hungry… It was monster until it was human,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is very appreciated! (Next chapter will probably be done by next Friday or Saturday!)


	3. Hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The siblings talk about what Diego and Klaus just saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope ya'll like this chapter!

“I don’t know Diego!” Klaus said in the shotgun seat of Diego’s car, “I didn’t ask what kind of monster! He just said it looked like an alien!” 

“Well that makes no sense!” Diego said angrily, “The only person who could turn into a monster is dead,”

“Well the guy said that and I quote, it was monster until it was human,” Klaus said in the most ghostly voice he could mimic, "This whole situation makes no sense!"

“I still think it sounds like bullshit,” Diego grunted as he pulled the car into the wide driveway.

“You saw the pictures Diego!” Klaus said slamming the door to the car, “You showed us the pictures! He looked just like something ripped him apart!”

“Let’s just tell everyone else.” Diego said while hopping out of his car, “And do not slam the car door!” 

Diego and Klaus opened the gate and stepped into the house. Diego called everyone down into the living room where Klaus sat next to the coffee table. Five instantly popped in followed by Allison, Luther and then Vanya. Once they were all seated Diego shared the report. 

“So a monster or alien killed a random dude,” Luther started as he processed the information, “And we care because…?”

“It’s someone dangerous Luther,” Diego said. 

“And they could be like… one of you,” Vanya said quietly. 

“Did out father ever tell us about the other children?” Five asked, “I mean we are were only seven out of 43. Logically there should be some left,”

“How would even find who did this?” Allison asked.

“Do we even know what they look like?” Vanya also asked.

“I’m sure Diego thinks that finding someone who turns into a monster should be easy, Vanya,” Luther said irritated, “After all stopping bad guys is his thing,”

“Yeah Luther,” Diego said just as irritated as Luther, “I do! After all you turned into one!” 

Diego and Luther started to argue. This was a common phenomenon between the siblings, especially Luther and Diego who happened to hate each other. Five just stared at them disappointed, Vanya was trying to tell them to stop but her quiet voice did not help her, Allison tried to get Luther to calm down before he could throw a punch and Klaus was laughing. 

“Enough!” Five said as he teleported in between Luther and Diego, “You two dumbasses need to calm the fuck down! This isn’t helping!” 

Diego and Luther started to argue with Five, they did not like being called dumbasses no matter how much they acted like one.

Klaus started to space out when he realized that they weren’t going to punch each other, but then he started thinking. Maybe Klaus was high but he had a theory. Now how would he get his family's attention?

“Wouldn’t it be just hilarious if this thing we’re looking for is Ben?” Klaus said nonchalantly. He got stares from his other siblings, they looked at him like he was crazy. 

“Klaus… Isn’t Ben dead?” Vanya was the first to speak up, looking down at her hands. 

“We never found his body,” Diego said quickly, he might have been starting to believe Klaus, “Do we have any hard proof he died?” 

“This is… unbelievable,” Allison sighed, “We had a funeral, Father was convinced. There was so much blood in his room,”

“Father could have been wrong,” Five pipped in. 

“Father wasn’t wrong!” Luther said quickly, always wanting to defend his father, “Klaus, you saw him that one time! Or was that another attention scheme?” 

It was about a week or two after Ben had disappeared, the children were stopping a car chase and Klaus happened to see someone who looked just like Ben on the street. When Klaus pointed him out to everyone else, Ben was gone. They took this as a sign that Ben was really gone. They finally had a funeral and a statue was made. Father didn't show any remorse.

“That was the only time I saw him!” Klaus pointed out.

“Have you even tried again?” Five asked accusingly and Klaus uttered an incoherent grumble as a response. 

“We could just wait…” Vanya said quickly.

“Wait?” Diego said angrily, “Wait for what Vanya?! More people to die?”

“Diego calm down,” Allison said coming to Vanya’s defense, “We can’t do anything now, Vanya’s right we have to wait,”

“I should go now…” Vanya said slowly, “I have a lesson soon…”

“Right meeting adjourned!” Klaus said with some sort of fake accent. 

“I’ll let everyone know if something new happens,” Diego said then walked out of the room. 

\----

There was a infamous motel on the outskirts of town, not many people stayed there but it still had the occasional occupants. In one of the dimly lit rooms there was a man laying in bed, shivering in pain. 

He felt movement under his skin and he heard a voice in head begging for food. The sensation of things crawling under his skin often led to him sobbing, the slithering under his skin hurt him. This was a common circumstance, especially when they were hungry. They caused the man pain and suffering, he could only do so much to satisfy the hunger. Once he tried drugs to calm himself and another time he nearly killed himself. 

The man eventually got up, it was dark outside, it was time to feed. The man didn’t want to do this, he never wanted to hurt anybody. His body didn’t give him much of a choice. 

He never should have come here, he thought over the growls of hunger coming from inside his head, he shouldn’t have felt the remorse of his father’s death. 

The man put on an old jacket and walked out his motel room. This was the only thing he could do.

\----

Diego woke up at 4 am to a ringing phone, he was never a morning person but when he heard Eudora’s voice over the answering machine, he got up right away. He called Eudora back right away. 

“Diego?” Eudora’s voice said sadly, “There was another murder,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have about 8 chapters planned, 5.5 written and there may or may not be an epilogue. Feedback is very helpful! (Next chapter should be sometime this weekend?


	4. Investigators

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Vanya get to investigate the next murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Klaus and Vanya is very fun!

Once again the family was called into the living room to gather around the coffee table, this time it was earlier in the morning and Diego was pacing anxiously as he awaited for the other siblings to arrive. 

Five, of course, came first. Klaus came right after with two cups of coffee, one was gone from his hand before he sat down, the missing coffee was now in Five’s hand. It took a few more minutes for Vanya to show up, surprisingly she and Allison walked in together. Lastly, Luther came in and he looked rather stressed. 

“So!” Diego started as Luther sat down, “I have news,”

“No shit.” Five said with a cold tone. Five was not a morning person.

“Another murder?” Klaus guessed as he propped his feet on the coffee table, getting a cold stare from Luther.

“Yes Klaus,” Diego said as he started to explain, “I got another call. There was a murder near an abandoned apartment building. Close to the laundromat and this person was killed in a similar way,” 

“Just as gruesome?” Vanya asked, “Was it like the exact same way or-”

“Yes,” Diego continued as he cut Vanya off, “Just as gruesome, not exactly the same- not identical but there was no way a regular human could have done this,”

“So?” Allison wondered, “What are we going to do? What can we even do?” 

“We should figure out what this is before we decide how to handle it,” Luther said, he acted like he always had a plan and that annoyed Diego and the other siblings. 

“Well I have a theory…” Diego said this then stopped when he saw Klaus’s face, Klaus knew what he was going to say. Diego realized how much his siblings wouldn’t believe him or even consider his theory, he would be treated like Klaus. 

“Well?” Five said loudly. Five really hated mornings huh?

“This will sound stupid but,” Diego took a deep breath and got ready to be ridiculed by his siblings, “I think this murderer is Ben.” Diego spoke quickly. 

The rest of his siblings just stared at him, except Klaus who stood up and with excitement said, “You believe me then?! Perfect! I agree! Ben is killing everyone! Hah!” 

“Ben died,” Luther said loudly, “He has been dead for- what? 11 years now?”

“13,” Vanya corrected Luther quickly. Allison sighed loudly. 

“Alright!” Five said with an unusual amount of enthusiasm, “I have a plan.” 

“Oh do tell,” Klaus said while he sipped his coffee. 

“What if we looked for whoever did this?” Five started to explain his plan, “We search areas that seem probable for some sort of attack. Areas where no one goes, especially at night, and we just look for some sort of monster!”

“You mean Ben?” Diego grumbled. At this point Diego was convinced it was Ben, maybe because he always hoped Ben was alive somewhere or somehow. Father had hammered the idea that he was dead until they started to believe it to.

“So you want us to go out in the middle of the night with some sort of monster loose and find them?” Allison said, “What would we even do if we find them?” Allison had common sense, she brought up good points. 

“We just know,” Five stated as if he was explaining this to children, “We know what or who it is. Once we know that than we can decide what to do next.” 

“That does make sense,” Luther muttered.

\----

The siblings waited for night anxiously, they decided to follow Five’s plan because no one had any other ideas. Five and Luther divided up different parts of town for them each to search alone, except for Vanya and Klaus. 

Vanya and Klaus were left together because Vanya was ordinary and Klaus’s power wouldn’t help much, also they were afraid of Klaus getting distracted. Maybe they thought he would get a hold of drugs or something and no one else wanted to babysit him.

Walking around at 1 am was awkward to say the least, so Vanya decided to talk, “Do you really think Ben is alive?”

“Of course!” Klaus said excitedly, almost like no one has asked him about it, “I’ve tried to summon him so many times, more when I was younger but I never could,”

“Yeah,” Vanya paused, “Maybe you're right,” It was another few minutes of silence before Klaus spoke up.

“Soooo, Van Van,” Vanya stared at Klaus and the nickname he gave her, “Seen any cute boys lately?” 

Vanya blushed immediately and quickly said, “No-no... Um I-I I well-”

Klaus cut her off, “Like girls?” Vanya blushed even more, “I mean you kinda have that lesbian vibe!” 

Vanya started laughing, “Vibe? Hah! What about you Klaus?” 

“Oh me?” Klaus chuckled, “I prefer guys but I like girls on occasions, can’t you tell by my vibe? Wow Van Van! You’re the first one to ask me about my sexuality,” 

“I am?” Vanya looked up at Klaus as he nodded, “Our other siblings must have assumed then,” Klaus was always showing off who he was, he wanted people to know. Vanya always felt like her sexuality was something no one would care about, it was a small detail- not a piece of her identity.

“Yeah,” Klaus said smiling, “Do you think we have any closeted siblings?”

“Maybe Diego is-” Vanya was cut off by a scream. Klaus grabbed Vanya’s hand, both of them frightened. “Where did it come from!?” Vanya whispered urgently to Klaus. 

“There maybe?” Klaus said as he pointed to the left, “Should we check it out?” Klaus asked as Vanya started pulling him in that direction. The two ran across the street and veered left, they peeked into any alley they saw. 

The checked about 3 alleys then ran up another block and kept peering into different alleys. 

Vanya was about to run to the next one when Klaus pulled her back, into the alley they just checked and whispered, “Look! Across the street,” and he pointed to another alley. 

Vanya peeked out from around the corner and looked to where Klaus was pointing. A hooded figure was on his kneeling on the ground. It was dark and Vanya couldn’t see much else but she thought she saw a puddle- but it hadn’t rained recently?

The figure stood up. Klaus kept squeezing Vanya’s hand and it occurred to her that Klaus was scared. They watched as the figure started to walk away, they had a small and barely noticeable limp, they also looked like they were in a rush.

The figure kept walking; they were trying to be quick yet inconspicuous and it wasn’t working too well. They kept walking until they stopped at a street light where they quickly looked around and then turned into a corner.

That mere five second were enough for Vanya. Ever since she was young she had good sight. Vanya was able to see the figure’s face. Vanya felt a rush of emotion and grief- it started drizzling like the clouds were crying.

While Vanya stood there standing in shock and awe, Klaus ran across the street. Klaus ran towards the alley where the figure came from. 

Once he got into the alley Klaus immediately regretted it… another gruesome murder stood before him.

Klaus saw another dying man on poor of blood, a horrible way to die. The man looked like he was ripped in half, some of his torso was gone as was his left arm and his face was dismembered. There was a joint on the ground near the man’s right hand. This could have been Klaus.

He stood there, imagining how this happened, how it could have happened. Klaus couldn’t help but listen to the whispers of the dead on the wind, he was overwhelming himself. A touch pulled him out of it. Vanya’s hand had held his once again as her soft voice whispered, “Let’s go Klaus,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated! I can only think of Vanya as a lesbian because of the wonderful Ellen Page. I am thinking about writing a ben-centric fic after they time travel back to their child-self or a sequel which would go along with Vanya's powers and the canon plot of the show but with Ben of course.


	5. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback filled with memories and of course Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with some hard stuff like suicide and neglect so no really important plot points. If you need to skip it then it's totally okay and you won't miss anything!

Ben used to cry himself to sleep. Sobbing in his dreams and conscious nightmares. He was in pain most of the time but he hid it. 

Having 6 other siblings was a challenge, most of the time it wasn’t fun. All of them were trying to get their mother’s attention, well most of them, and it was utter chaos. Growing up in the environment that they did, it was odd. They felt camaraderie for each other yet they were never close. They just existed together sometimes.

Ben had always been quiet, he didn’t want the attention that other’s asked for. He didn’t want to be the favorite like Luther, he didn’t want to be their mother’s favorite like Diego and he didn’t cause scenes like Five loved doing. Ben wasn’t as happy as Allison, she loved her power and he wasn’t like Klaus who had the ability to be carefree despite the punishments he got. Ben was unlike Vanya in the sense that he never wanted powers, he never wanted to be part of the dysfunctional team.

Ben was Ben, boring, overlooked and outspoken. He used to think he was kind but once he realized all the atrocities he has committed he never called himself kind again. He was a monster.

Ben had preferred the company of books, all he learned from the outside world was from them. Despite all the knowledge he had gotten, he never learned how to stand up for himself as a child. He wasn’t loud or confident. He did what he was told because of how afraid he was.

Ben was afraid. He was scared of the monsters inside him and the monsters that controlled his life, his childhood. Ben also knew that one of these monsters were scared of the other but he never used that to his advantage, he could have made things so much better if he had trusted himself.

They were 13 when Five left. Five was closest to Ben, they had solved math problems together as if they were bonding. Five was also closest to Vanya. Ben was always jealous of Vanya, she was free, she didn’t have anything that could make her lose control.

After Five left Ben had stepped up to take care of Vanya. They were the quiet ones, they were the ones that were easily forgotten. Ben used to sit in her room and read while she played her violin, it was peaceful. At night Ben had helped Vanya make sandwiches for Five, only after he found out about it. When Ben got made fun of for being the lowest, he was compared to Vanya. Ben was happy to be compared to her, he wished he were more like her. 

They were 16 and tired. For the past three years his father had been pushing him to be stronger with his so called super powers. Father had tried everything to control these monsters but every chance he got but they would never listen. No matter how much his Father screamed or how much he cut into Ben and tried to force them out, Father would never gain control.

They were 16 when it happened, the last time Ben had seen their father alive. 

Ben had planned everything for a while, this would have been the perfect day to do it. There was a mission. Gang activity and the Umbrella Academy had to shut it down. Allison would infiltrate their warehouse, Luther and Diego would find any drugs and free any people, Klaus would stand guard and of course the killing was left to Ben. 

The first half went smoothly. Luther had told Ben to take care of anyone left in the lower levels of the building. That’s when it fell apart. It took 14 minutes for Ben to find everyone and kill them, he was exhausted and losing control of himself. Ben was splattered with blood, his nose was bleeding and he felt faint. Ben was tired of this, he now just noticed he the tears running down his face. He never wanted to kill anyone.

Ben heard a whimper as the 15th minute passed. His tentacles moved boxes and crates to reveal a man whimpering and shaking. No this was a boy. He could have only been maybe 3 years older than Ben himself. 

“P-Please d-don’t kill me!” The boy said through tears and shakes, “P-p-please…” the boy continued to sob and sob. 

“Hide,” Ben whispered through his own tears and he pulled the tentacles back and retreated to the upper levels where his family was waiting. 

Dinner that night was quiet, Ben didn’t eat much. He listened as his father criticized the mission. Allison wasn’t careful enough, Klaus had to pay more attention, Diego should have had his anger in check, Luther was perfect and Ben? Ben had taken too long, Father must have noticed Ben’s tears. 

As the children were excused Ben went straight to the bathroom. The shower still had the remains of blood, Ben had to take a shower considering how much blood he was soaked with. Ben had coughed up whatever food he ate and spit it in the toilet. Not only food resurfaced but his own blood. The overuse of his power had shook his body, he felt weak and exhausted. 

He walked past Vanya on the way to his room and he said his last words he would ever say to her, “I hope you have a good night Vanya,” She replied with a subtle nod and, “You too,”

Ben couldn’t say everything he wanted, he wanted to tell her so many things. He didn’t want to leave her alone but he couldn’t stay here.

Once Ben was in his room he sat against the door and quietly sobbed. It took a few minutes for him to compose himself. Ben quietly took out one of the wooden floor panels where he hid his most precious objects, he took out a bottle of pills he stole from Klaus.

Ben dumped the pills into his hands and held them, it would be painful but Ben couldn’t keep living like this. Before Ben could do anything, there was a small voice in his head. _Don’t._ Ben’s nose started bleeding but he still held pills. _I will make you stop._ He quickly threw the pills in his mouth and tried to swallow

Ben gasped in pain as his stomach and throat started to throb and burn, he threw up the pills before he could swallow them. He didn’t want to do that, he wasn’t in control. He tasted blood in his mouth. Ben started to spit up blood.

Ben started sobbing again and he looked to the floor, which was now covered in blood and dissolving pills. He didn’t have much time left. He had to leave one way or another.

Ben was good at thinking quickly, a skill that was often overlooked in his family. He climbed over his bed and to his window. Usually Father had put locks on all the windows but Ben took his off a few years ago and Father never noticed. Ben opened the window and sat on the frame. 

He thought about telling Vanya, inviting Vanya to come with him. He didn’t, he couldn’t protect or he would lose control or something bad would happen. At least Vanya is safe at the mansion. 

Ben got ready to jump, the fire escape wasn’t near his window but at least there was a dumpster below him. He had to be careful, if he hurt himself then he couldn’t leave or if he made too much noise someone would hear him. 

Ben decided it was best to try to climb down by scaling the brick wall. This was better then jumping but still a bad decision. He got about half way down then slipped, his hands were scraped by the brick. He hit the dumpster with a loud thud. The back of his head started bleeding and he landed weirdly on his leg. Ben laid there for a minute, it was dark out. No one would notice him if they heard the noise, hopefully. 

Once Ben thought it was okay to leave he hobbled out of the dumpster and started wobbling away from the academy. Ben looked back once, he saw a shadow of Vanya through her window, she was playing the violin. Ben didn’t return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was fun and emotional to write. Feedback is very much appreciated! I also decided to start another fic about time travel once I finish writing this one and then I might go back and write a sequel.


	6. Rumors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The siblings debate things and Allison has a moment to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allison is a really good character so sorry if I didn't do the best with her.

Klaus and Vanya got back first. They were afraid of getting caught by the police. They sat together and waited and waited… until the rising sun peeked out from the big windows. Vanya woke up first, she and Klaus had fallen asleep while waiting for the others to return, turns out it took all night. 

As soon as Vanya got up, she heard Luther’s loud footsteps on the wooden staircase. “Good morning Vanya,” Luther said with an attempted smile.

“Morning,” she replied with a yawn, “When did you get home last night?” 

“About 4?,” Luther said, “Allison and I ran into each other on the way home and Diego showed up about 30 minutes after we did. I think Five came in before us though,” 

“Would you two please shut up,” Klaus grumbled as he shifted to his other side.

“Go to your room if you want to-” Luther was cut off by Five who poofed under his portrait. 

“So. What did we find last night?” Five smirked confidently, “I’ll tell you what, nothing!”

Before Vanya could report her findings Diego walked in after that and followed by Allison, “I came up short too,”

“What about you Allison?” Five asked. Allison shook her head with a frown and Five sighed, “Well. This was useless.” 

Klaus grumbled something incoherent, Luther shook his head in disappointment and said, “We could try again? Murder doesn't happen every night,”

“Hey guys-” Vanya was cut off by Five who angrily said, “This is clearly a waste of time! I could be doing better things! I could have had a nice 8 hour deep sleep!” 

“But guys-” Vanya was cut off again but this time by Diego who said, “We need to find out! We need to know if he did this. Even of he didn't people are getting hurt,” 

“He is DEAD Diego,” Five emphasized the word dead. 

“Guys!” Vanya shouted, the room shook with her voice, “Listen to me!” Vanya paused and took a deep breath as she noticed them all staring at her, “Klaus and I saw something.”

“Go on Vanya,” Allison’s voice was filled with encouragement. 

“We saw someone,” Vanya continued, “Diego will get a call about a murder in an alley near some parking garage. We found a dead body…” Vanya started trailing off but saw Allison nod and started again, “I saw someone kneeling in the alley and he walked into a street light and I saw his face. He was familiar at first but then I realized-” 

“Ben,” Klaus said loudly, “Ben has been on a killing streak. Believe me now?”

“You guys actually saw him?” Allison whispered, her voice was full of concern and a tinge of doubt. 

“Why?” Diego muttered, “Why would he start killing people? He hated hurting people!” Diego was right, Ben was the one who protested his job during missions. Ben would have preferred to be the look out. 

“What if,” Five spoke up next, “Hypothetically, it is him. What if… he isn’t in control?” The siblings looked confused, “I mean what if he is being forced to do it because the monster in his stomach? That would make more sense then him randomly showing up and becoming a serial murder,” 

“I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that he might be alive,” Luther said in disbelief, “Why would he show up now? Why wouldn’t he have just talked to us before all this?”

“He must have ran away,” Vanya answered. His body was never found.

“The thing inside him killed him,” Luther said defensively, “He wouldn’t have ran away,” Blood covered his room, it was a gruesome scene.

Allison sighed and spoke next, “This is a lot to take in at 8 am. I want coffee, anyone else want coffee? I’ll go get some,” Five, Vanya and Klaus wanted coffee. 

\----

Allison took Diego’s car, it only took a few minutes of pleading and promising him a cookie for him to give her the car keys. Allison didn’t want to keep listening to that conversation, a coffee run was a good distraction for her. Personally, she doubted what Vanya saw. Maybe Vanya saw someone who looked vaguely familiar. After all how would Vanya know what Ben would look like after 13 years. 

Allison started to wonder what Ben looked like, she couldn’t image his face. It had been far too long since she saw the true him. Even before his supposed death she hadn’t seen his real smile in years. The photos and the dumb statue never showed the Ben that Allison missed.

Allison sighed as she pulled out of the long driveway. She would have walked but she was too tired, only 4 hours of sleep will make a person exhausted. At least the weather was nice.

Unfortunately Allison couldn’t find parking near the coffee shop, of course people would want coffee this early in the morning. The closest parking space that Allison could find was two blocks away. She put on her sunglasses and got out of Diego’s car. Allison got half a block when she saw something. 

From the corner of her eye a familiar face brushed passed her. Allison froze for a second and then spun around. He was turning a corner… he must have seen Allison too. Allison ran, she wanted to catch up- no she needed to catch up. She turned the corner, but he was still walking, he wasn’t trying to get away. 

Allison reached out. Her hand met his wrist. He spun around, he was surprised. Allison saw his face.

It was Ben. It was an older Ben, her brother. He was paler and more ghastly than Allison remembered. His hair was a mess, he had dark circles under his eyes. Despite wearing baggy clothing, he looked thin. 

They both stood there in shock, Allison checked his wrist just to see of the umbrella tattoo was there. It was, although there were scars over it and it had faded a little. Ben tried to pull away but Allison kept her grip, in that moment Allison knew that Ben wouldn’t come willingly.

“I heard a rumor-” Allison would apologize later, this was the only way.

“Don’t-” Ben’s voice was soft and quiet, almost louder than it was when he was younger. It was also sad and sounded tired.

“You fell asleep for a day,” Ben’s eyes rolled to back of his head, his knees buckled and he started to fall. Allison was able to quickly catch him and let him down gently. 

Allison sat on the ground with Ben’s head in her lap as her eyes started to tear up. Now she just had to bring him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is very nice!! (gosh Ben needs a nap)


	7. Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy! This fic has one more chapter left.

Allison had to ask a random man to help carry her brother and place him in the car. She could almost carry him herself, he was so thin but she was tired and not strong enough.

Allison carefully drived home, an eye on her brother sleeping in the back seat. He looked so gentle, could he have really killed those people?

\----

Allison pulled into the mansion’s driveway, Ben was still fast asleep in the backseat. Allison got out of the car, as quiet as she could, and swiftly walked towards the kitchen door. Once inside she started to yell for her siblings, she called for Luther first. 

Five jumped down to her first and Diego followed jumping down the stairs. “Where’s the coffee?” Five asked impatiently. 

“Where’s Luther?” Allison asked just as impatiently. 

“Taking a shower,” Diego said, “Vanya and Klaus fell asleep again,” 

“Allison,” Five was angry, Allison could tell, it was the same voice he used when someone stole his things as a child, “Why did you not get coffee?! It wasn’t that difficult”

“I got something better,” Allison snapped back quickly, “C’mon,” Allison lead them to the car much to Five and Diego’s confusion. 

“Allison can’t you just- oh,” Diego stopped mid sentence when he saw the backseat of the car, “I-is t-t-that-”

“Ben?” Five said impatiently and unamused with Diego’s stutter. The two brothers stood in disbelief, it never occurred to Five that Diego and Klaus could ever be right. “How do we know it’s really him?” Five whispered. 

“His wrist,” Allison said quietly, “He has the tattoo,” 

Diego moved to open the car door, “Let’s get him out of there… how long did you rumor him for?”

“About a day hopefully,” Allison held the door open as Diego carefully dragged Ben out of the car. Diego carried Ben to Allison’s room, she had offered hers because of the size. Ben’s room was slightly bigger than Vanya’s but not big enough for the siblings to fit in there. 

They locked the door and left Ben asleep, Diego called a family meaning as Allison woke Vanya and Klaus up. They caught Luther, Vanya and Klaus up to speed and Allison told them how she met Ben. 

“What now?” Diego asked, “Ben killed people. We can’t just let him go,”

“I agree,” Everyone was shocked to hear those words from Luther of all people, “He owes us an explanation. He’s dangerous,” 

“What should we do? Throw him in jail?” Klaus said looking at the ceiling, “We could ground him! Yeah I’m sure he’ll listen to his dear siblings just like when he was 13,” 

“Dad does have a cell in the basement…” Luther trailed off. 

“We can’t do that,” Five said quickly, “We don’t know what he’s capable of. He could get pissed and try to kill us. We need to be careful,”

“You guys are talking about him like he isn’t a person,” Vanya said quietly but no one heard her.

“We could just have Allison keep rumoring him,” Diego suggested.

“I feel bad using it on family,” Allison quickly said, “It doesn’t feel right, I mean keeping him mind controlled.”

“But I’m sure it’ll feel right locking him up huh?” Klaus said with a stinge of anger, “He would be scared and alone, not sure when he’ll be free and it might make his powers worse! But hey I’m sure you guys will make the right decision!” 

“Maybe someone should talk-” Vanya was cut off by Five who said, “Okay but why? Why would he of all people go on a murder spree? This is Ben we’re talking about. He hated hurting people,”

“We’d know if we asked him!” Vanya shouted. Everyone stared at her, “You’re all afraid of him. You guys think he isn’t a person. I won’t let you lock him up,” Vanya sighed and walked out of the room leaving everyone.

\----

Vanya hurried up the stairs to the second floor and quickly went into Allison’s room. Ben was still there sleeping away. Vanya missed Ben so much, she was tempted to try to wake him up but she decided against it. Vanya sat on the ground leaning against the side of the bed and waited. 

About 30 minutes passed and Klaus opened the door. He didn’t say anything but gave a weak smile. He sat next to Vanya on the floor and waited with her.

\----

It was dark out, the morning light had vanished, Ben was awake. The voice inside his head was begging him to get up, they finally got through and he was awake. It took him a second to remember what had last happened. He remembered Allison and then a rumor and sleep. Now he was in Allison’s room. 

Ben sat up, it was definitely Allison’s room, little had changed from when they were young- not that Ben was ever allowed in her room. Just as he was about to stand he saw two siblings sleeping on top of each other. Vanya and Klaus, they looked so different from what Ben had remembered. They weren’t children anymore.

Ben was careful and quiet, he didn’t want to wake them up. He moved to the door which he opened and carefully closed. Ben was good at going unnoticed, a skill he learned later in life despite easily not being noticed as a child. Ben took a minute to walk around the old house, he didn’t get too close to anything. He was tempted to go into his room but as his hand was on the door knob he stopped.

Ben was able to make it unnoticed into the courtyard. The broken statue caught his eye. He read the plaque and scoffed, it looked nothing like him. It was a sorry excuse of a memorial. Nothing stopped him from picking up his own head which was set on the stone base. 

“Ben?!” Did the statue just talk to him? Ben slowly turned around and saw his young brother, Five, standing there. Ben set the head down and said, “Well, you haven’t aged a bit, huh?”

“You shouldn’t be up yet,” It took a minute for Five to recover, “Allison rumored you to sleep for a day,”

“Should I go back to bed then?” Ben said with a weak smile. 

“You know,” Five paused to think, “One and Two are angry at you. They want to throw you in jail,”

“Yeah I figured. Um, why are you 13?” Of course that question was going to come up, but first Five teleported them to Griddy’s Donuts. Ben and Five talked about time travel and at least Ben understood Five’s explanation of why he was 13. Five seemed happy to talk to Ben, he missed Ben, he missed the only sibling with a single working brain cell. 

A few hours later, after they had been catching up with each other and talking about math, Five teleported them back. They landed in the living room next to the coffee table. To their surprise a pacing Diego and a frowning Luther were right behind them. 

“Hey,” Ben said quietly, “So how-” 

“Really!?” Diego cut him off angrily, “That’s all you have to say? We thought you died man! We grieved for you!” 

“I can explain-” 

“We held your fucking funeral!” Diego was shouting now, undoubtedly waking up the whole house, “You could have told us you were alive! You had 13 years to come back! Now your back and we only found you because you were killing people!? What the hell Six!?” 

“You wouldn’t understand,” Ben said with a tired sigh. Ben’s stomach churned, “I’m barely in control,” 

“Asshole!” Diego had enough, he was furious. Diego had subconsciously moved his hand to his knife. 

“Try and kill me Diego,” Ben said, there was an unnoticeable darkness in his eyes, “I fucking dare you!” 

Diego threw his knife before Luther could restrain him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is very much appreciated as always. I started another Ben centric fic starting off where season one ended. Its called The Kids Don't Stand a Chance https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291647/chapters/43292621


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Ben home yet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! I hope you all enjoy!

That would have been bad. Five was quicker than Diego’s knife but Ben almost wished Five had let him fight.

The morning came again. Ben watched the sun from the window edge, ironically the one he escaped from. He was thinking about the events of last night, he wished Diego had let him defend himself. Five had teleported Ben out of the way and then retreated to his room. Ben left for his room too. Being awake was tiring, especially when trying to keep control all the time. Ben’s time was running out, they would be hungry again.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on his door, before he could say anything Vanya opened it. 

“Breakfast is ready…” Vanya said looking at the ground, “I think you should come down and talk to Diego,”

“Yeah,” Ben started, “I should explain myself. I read your book by the way,” maybe it was a bad idea to bring up the book but Ben did.

“Oh?” Vanya was staring at him now. 

“It was sweet,” Ben’s voice was soft, “What you said about me. I mean some parts I didn’t want to remember but it was good of you to do it,” 

“They are angry with me,” Vanya said as she sat down on his bed, “They hate me now,”

“Well,” Ben sighed, “They hate me now too. Let's go eat pancakes like when we were younger and not hated,”

“Your leg,” Vanya stated as she turned it into a question, “Why were you limping?”

“I hurt it escaping,” Ben said looking down at it, “it still hurts sometimes. I don’t think I ever got it looked at,” Ben was afraid to go into any hospital or place they might recognize him. 

Vanya suggested having Mom look at it as they walked down to the kitchen. Some pancakes would do good for them. 

\----

Awkward was a word that Ben would use to describe eating pancakes with Diego and Luther glaring daggers at him, at least they finally agreed on something. Too bad it was how dangerous Ben was. Klaus was muttering nonsense trying to break the tension but it didn’t really work. Once the pancakes were eaten Mom gave them all cups of coffee to Five’s delight.

“So,” Vanya finally said something, “We should catch up. What happened that day Ben?” She got looks from Luther and Diego, but she wanted to know.

“I…” Ben paused, how would he tell his siblings he tried to kill himself? “I um, swallowed a bottle of pills,” Allison nearly choked on her coffee, “Well that obviously didn’t work out,” Ben chuckled as everyone else just stared in shock. Maybe he shouldn’t make jokes about his death attempt yet, “I swallowed a bottle of pills and I spit them out. I couldn’t stay here anymore. I climbed out of my window and left,” 

“You could have told us!” Luther said angrily, “You should have-”

“You wouldn’t have let me leave Luther,” Ben cut him off, “I doubt any of you really understand how much 16 year old me felt,”

“We were all abused Ben,” Klaus said quickly. Klaus was right, abuse and neglect was a common occurrence. 

“Your right,” Ben paused again to think about how to explain how much his childhood sucked, “You were all hurt by our Father. I, um, I was hurt by more than just our Father. My monster friends? Yeah, they hurt me. I was forced to kill, and when I was forced to keep them under control, they hurt me. Most nights were so painful and I ended up crying myself to sleep. My own powers hurt me so much and I was forced to use them. I just wanted to be a real person, not a weapon, not a one man army, I wanted to be a kid. I had to leave,” 

Ben looked down and saw small pools of water on the table, he didn’t realize he had been crying. 

“We all wanted to leave,” Diego said with a hoarse voice, “Why did you kill those people? They were innocent people,” 

“They got hungry,” Ben sighed again, “The more I keep them controlled, the more they fight back and get hungry. I lose control sometimes and bad things happen. You know who I kill right Diego?” Diego just kept staring at him, “I know who I kill and they are not innocent. The first man I killed abused his wife. The next one? He got away with murdering this black kid. Am I different from you?” 

“Who gives you the right to decide who dies?!” Luther shouted. Ben didn’t miss Luther and his attempt at having morals.

“Ben’s right,” Diego said at he leaned back and looked at the ceiling, “He and I do the same thing, he’s just more gory about it,” Diego stood up, “Sorry Ben,” Diego walked out of the kitchen to sulk somewhere.

“We had shitty childhoods,” Klaus said with a chuckle, “Welcome home Ben,” 

\----

The siblings finally felt like siblings, for the past week they had decided to treat each other like people. No one was a monster, no one was a useless junkie or ordinary. It was good while it lasted.

Hungry. Feed Us. Ben woke with pain in the middle of the night. He hadn’t had this feeling in so long. Ben got up and quickly made his way to the bathroom. He spit up blood and the remainder of his last meal. Ben curled up on the bathroom tile next to the toilet. He felt like a child. Ben started to quietly cry as the pain in his chest worsened. 

The next morning Diego found him there, sleeping on the cold tile. Diego carried him to his own room and set him down, Ben was asleep again but Diego stayed nearby. Diego had missed his brother, Diego also felt guilty about the way he treated Ben. Diego’s own power was tame- it wasn’t a burden to bear. He was unlike Ben or even Klaus, his own abilities never hurt him. 

Diego wasn’t sure if he was tired when he first noticed the movement under Ben’s clothing, Ben was still asleep but there were ripples under his skin. Diego remembered what Ben could actually do. 

They were 8 when Diego saw the tentacle like monsters for the first time. Ben had been crying all day, he kept mumbling about his stomach. It was just after lunch and he and Luther were teasing Ben about how short he was compared to everyone else, even Vanya was taller than him. Ben wasn’t an angry person, but this time he had enough. The tentacles spilled out of his chest as Ben cried and screamed. Diego and the others knew that he had monsters but they never saw it this close. It was terrifying.

\----

Diego had left Ben to sleep. No one else was in the house, Vanya took Klaus shopping. Five was doing whatever smart thing he wanted, Allison at the library researching family law and Luther was searching for clues about Father’s death. Diego didn’t have much to do now except listen to his radio. Turns out that sunny afternoons weren’t very crime ridden. He debated bothering Eudora but she was probably doing paperwork. 

Diego heard movement upstairs, it was Ben, Mom’s footsteps were louder. Diego watched as Ben climbed down the stairs. Ben got halfway to the front door when Diego called out to him, “Sneaking away again?” 

Ben almost jumped out of his skin, “Jesus Diego!” 

“So?” Diego said as he stood up and walked towards Ben, “Where you going? Not gonna tell us and then just resurface when Pogo dies in 10 years?” 

“Diego…” Ben looked tired.

“You know I found you in the bathroom right?” Diego moved to step in between the door and Ben as he talked, “You need us. You aren’t okay. What’s going on Ben?”

“They’re hungry,” Ben’s soft voice was filled with sadness.

“Ben,” Diego sighed, “I’ll go with you-”

“No!” Ben cut in loudly, “They might hurt you,”

“Ben,” Diego put his hand on Ben’s arm trying to have a comfortable touch, “I’m going with you. Your not alone anymore. We can help you so please let us,” 

Ben did. That night Ben and Diego found a man pursuing a woman who looked frightened. Diego watched and guarded as Ben’s monsters feasted. In the end Diego used his knife to put the man out of his misery.

They walked back to the mansion together. Their family was watching a movie and they quietly joined in. By the end of the movie, the family was entangled in a mess of blankets and pillows. 

Grace Hargreeves watched her family from the upstairs balcony and smiled. All her children were home and healthy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone liked this fic, I sure do love Ben. I have another Ben centered fic called The Kids Don't Stand A Chance and I might eventually write a sequel or even prequel for this one while we wait for season two. Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you all for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> More chapters to come!!! Feedback is much appreciated!!!


End file.
